The Leap
by BeneathTheUmbrella
Summary: This is my follow-up to Round and Round—Ted and Tracy lay their cards down on the table. This is a lengthy one, probably not my best chapter, but I had a lot of scenes in mind for this one that I wanted to squeeze in. So my apologies if it's a bit convoluted. Enjoy!


Ted walked up to Tracy's apartment door, a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and the yellow umbrella in the other. She had forgotten the umbrella in the cab after they got back from Farhampton, and since there was a possibility of rain that week, he figured she'd want it back. As for the flowers, well, he felt she deserved flowers. Still reeling from their date the night before, Ted was eager to see her smiling face.

He knocked on her door, and hid his gifts behind his back. He heard the sound of the locks being unlocked, and Tracy swung open the door, her features soft and happy upon seeing him. "Hi," she told him.

"Hey," he said. "I have something for you." He revealed his left hand and handed her the umbrella.

"Hey there, stranger!" she cooed happily. "I thought I lost you again. At least I know you were in good hands." She looked up at Ted. "Yes, I talk to my umbrella."

Ted laughed. "And..." he said, and revealed his right hand, holding out the mix of white, red and yellow daisies. "For you."

Tracy was touched. "Thank you, Ted," she breathed out, taking them out of his hands. "They're beautiful."

"You're beautiful," he said, leaning to give her a kiss. Not as wildly passionate as their goodnight kiss the night before, but Ted did feel weak in the knees as Tracy lingered on his lips for a few extra seconds.

"Thank you," she said sweetly. "Um, come on in. I'll put these in water, and just give me a few minutes to finish getting ready."

He entered her apartment, one he had only been privy to seeing once a few years earlier, shutting the door behind him as Tracy headed to the kitchen to grab a vase. He didn't remember too much of the place, as it was a brief visit, but it looked familiar. Cozy.

"Nice place," he called out to her. "I didn't get to see it much last time I was here."

"Right," she said, as she filled up the vase with water at the sink. She turned it off, and placed the bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table. "Do you want a tour? There's not much to see, though."

"Sure," he said, walking towards her.

"Well, this is the kitchen," she said, waving her arms around her. "The living room..."

Ted pointed at the door to Cindy's old room. "What's in there? Did you get a new roommate?"

"Nah," she said. "I think I've gotten too old to have a roommate at this point in my life. So I turned it into an office slash music room slash art room."

"Right!" Ted said. "Cindy mentioned that you painted. Robots playing poker, right?"

Tracy laughed. "Close: robots playing sports. Bowling, baseball, volleyball, rugby..."

"That is pretty cool," Ted told her, impressed at her talents. "Painting, music... what else do you do?"

Tracy laughed nervously, blushing. "I'm not all that impressive, believe me. My robot paintings are more of a weird quirk, if anything."

"I highly doubt that," he told her softly, taking her hand and leaning in to give her a tender peck on the lips. "So what else is there to see?"

"Not much," she said. "Just the bathroom**—**exciting stuff!**—**and my room."

"Can I see?" Ted asked. He hoped he didn't come off sounding too... predatory. He just really wanted to see her room; he always felt that was the space that truly represented a person's personality. Ted felt he could truly get a sense of who Tracy was by looking around her room.

"My room?" she asked. "Um, there's not much to see but... okay."

She popped open her door and let Ted walk in first, and he slowly took in the room before him, the sun shining in from the large window above her bed. Ted's eyes first went to the bed, where a lavender comforter with embroidered dragonflies looked cozy and inviting. Tracy's ukelele sat on top. By her bed sat a stack of books, almost as high as the bedside lamp next to it.

He walked over to them. "_Sense and Sensibility, Madame Bovary, 100 Years of Solitude, Gone Girl, Atonement_... You have a nice variety here. Have you read all these?"

Tracy laughed. "Not yet. I tend to buy more books than I have time to read, so they just pile up next to my bed. I figure, at the rate I purchase them, I'll be dead twice over by the time I read them all."

"I'm the same way," Ted sympathized. He continued to look around, noticing Tracy's messy vanity table, with various creams and makeup products strewn about. "Is that an organized chaos thing?" he teased.

"I've been meaning to organize that," Tracy popped in. "Okay, fine, I admit it: it will never get organized. I try, but it never remains uncluttered, so I've come to accept the fact that I'm just messy."

"I won't judge, I promise," he said, then his eyes zoned in on something in the corner of the room. He didn't know what it was at first, but his eyes widened when he realized what it was: a gothic-inspired chainmail corset resting on a vintage sewing mannequin. "What's that?" he asked, intrigued.

"Oh," Tracy said, realizing what Ted was looking at. " Um, something I picked up at the Ren Faire a few years back. It's no biggie. We should go now," she said desperately, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of her room.

"But, but, I wanted to check it out!" Ted said, laughing. They were now in her living room.

Tracy's cheeks reddened. "I'd rather you not," she admitted. "You probably would've made some comment about wanting to see me in it."

Ted smiled. "That wasn't what I was going to do. Of course, I was totally thinking it," he said. Tracy laughed, despite herself. "It's just: you go to the Ren Faire?"

"Yeah! The one down in Tuxedo Park."

"Me, too!" Ted said excitedly. He hadn't met a girl who was into the Ren Faire circuit since, well, ever. "I mean, I haven't been in a while, since I don't have anyone to go with usually. The gang isn't particularly into it..."

"Same here," Tracy lamented. "I kinda miss it."

"You know, we can always hit it up over Labor Day..." Ted suggested. He didn't want to make plans _too_ far ahead of time but he sure hoped that, three months from now, Tracy would still be in the picture. "It'd be real nice to finally have someone to go with."

"I'd like that," she told him. "So, listen, we should get going or we'll be late. I'll grab my jacket. Can you please grab the cookies from the kitchen counter?"

"I'd be happy to comply, m'lady," Ted answered. "Sorry. Just getting ahead of myself for the Ren Faire. I'll just get the cookies..." he said, as Tracy giggled as she headed to her room.

* * *

They arrived at Lily and Marshall's apartment at 5, just to help them prep for the party and also have some alone time with them before the rest of the guests arrived. Surprisingly, Lily was super happy and accommodating when he had asked if Tracy could come to the party. He knew her rule about not inviting "random bimbos" to her home, but she definitely changed her tune with regards to Tracy. It likely helped that they had already hit it off during the wedding weekend.

Ted has barely knocked on the door when Lily swung it open, squealing excitedly.

"_Tracyyyy!_" she sang out happily, practically pulling her into the apartment, and into her arms for a hug. "You're here! And with Ted! Oh, I'm just so happy for you both! Ooooh, I love your boots! What size do you wear..."

"Slow down there, Lily," Ted said, gently pulling Tracy away. "At least offer her a drink before you interrogate her." _I'm so sorry_, he mouthed.

Tracy, while slightly startled, just seemed cool about it all. "It's no problem Ted. By the way, I brought you guys some cookies," Tracy offered.

"Sumbitches!" she squealed, grabbing the container from her hands. "Marshall! Tracy's here! And she brought cookies!"

Marshall ran out of the nursery with Marvin in his arms at the mention of the cookies. "Yes! Lily's been going on about them since Saturday!" He tossed the baby into Ted's arms, barely acknowledging him, and gave Tracy a warm and friendly hug, before reaching his paw in the Tupperware and grabbing a few cookies.

"Come on, Tracy! I need some help in the kitchen," Lily said, dragging her away, while Tracy looked back at Ted, amused.

Marshall, meanwhile, grabbed Ted and pulled him towards the living room. "Wanna beer?" he asked, reaching into a stocked cooler next to the sofa, and pulled out a Sam Adams.

"Sure," Ted said, sitting down next to his friend, bouncing Marvin on his lap as Marshall handed over the bottle.

"So, I take it your date went well?" Marshall asked him expectantly. Ted just looked over towards the kitchen where Lily was excitedly chatting up Tracy. Tracy was just smiling and seemingly answering Lily's questions, and briefly looked back at Ted through the pass-through window. She smiled at him sweetly before resuming her conversation with Lily.

"It was great," Ted said, still gazing at Tracy. "She's just... amazing."

"So, by that logic, you already told her you love her, right?" Marshall teased.

"As much as I may think she may be the future Mrs. Ted Mosby," Ted whispered, "I am proud to say I did not. But it's hard not to love her. I mean, did you know she does these awesome paintings of robots playing sports? And she plays, like, seven different musical instruments. And this one time, when she was in Spain..."

"You really like this girl," his friend noted. "I'm really happy for you Ted. But try not to look too far into the future just yet. Don't Ted it up, you know?"

Ted smiled. "Don't worry," he assured him. "At this point, I'm just looking forward to getting to know her at a normal, steady pace. She's one girl I want to make sure I don't scare off**—**I _really_ think this could go somewhere, Marshall."

"I'm glad, buddy," he said. "Oh, by he way, Barney called earlier. And I told him that you're staying in New York, after all."

"Uh-oh," said Ted. "I figured he'd just find out when he got back from the honeymoon. How'd he take it?"

At that precise moment, Marshall's phone rang. He looked at his Caller ID, and handed his phone over to Ted. "Well, you're about to find out."

Ted sighed. He grabbed the phone, and handed Marvin back to Marshall. He stepped out into the hallway before answering, to have this conversation in private.

"Heeeey, buddy! How are you and Robin doing? How's Maui?" he asked Barney casually.

"Don't you hey-buddy-how're you-and-Robin-doing-how's-Maui me!" said his friend. "What the hell? Marshall tells me you ditched Chicago for some broad? I hope you know you put me through some major stress, having to say goodbye to my best bro like that! Did that High Infinity mean nothing to you? _Nothing?!_"

Ted chuckled. He'd gotten used to Barney's dramatics. "What can I say? She was a game-changer."

"Pfft. A game changer, my newly-tanned ass. Who is this girl? I swear, Ted, she'd better be a _minimum_ 9.5 to justify this breach of bro-hood."

"Her name is Tracy. She was the bass player in your wedding band," he explained.

"What?!" Barney screeched on the other end of the line.

"You'll love her, Barney," Ted assured her. "She's really awesome."

"I _know_ she's awesome, Theodore Evelyn Mosby," Barney huffed. "_That_ was the girl I wanted to introduce you to at the wedding! You refused a last game of 'Have you met Ted?' and opted to make a solo play on her without your wingman? I... I don't even know what to say!"

"How about you're happy for me?" Ted offered.

"Bro, of _course_ I'm happy for you!" said Barney sincerely. And then he, well, pulled a Barney: "She's a bass player, for God's sake; that means she has a way with her fingers! Ted, Ted, Ted: has she played your instrument yet?"

Ted rolled his eyes. "Goodbye, Barney. Give my love to Robin. I'll see you guys in a week."

"Ok, ok," Barney laughed. "My bride is waiting for me in the hot tub, so I have to go anyway. But seriously, Ted: she's a great girl. I'm real happy for you."

"Thanks, man," Ted said. "I have a good feeling about her."

"I do, too. She chose my best friend, after all, so she has good taste," Barney said. "Although she did turn me down once, so that's a bit questionable, but other than that, she's fantastic."

"She _what?!_" Ted asked. But Barney had already hung up on him. _I'm going to have to ask her about that_, Ted bemused as he headed back into the apartment.

* * *

By 6:30, Marshall and Lily's friends had arrived for a quiet goodbye get-together. Stuart and Claudia were there. So was Lily's friend Michelle, along with her fiancé Mitch. There were also a couple of teacher friends of Lily's in attendance, and a few of Marshall's law school buddies. It was a pretty small group, which made for a pretty civilized party.

Ted was just getting to know Tracy, but from what he was witnessing, she was very friendly and sociable. She was able to hold a conversation with pretty much everyone at the party, always able to find at least one thing in common with the person she was speaking with. Her interest in what they were talking to her about seemed genuine, and he was all the more smitten with her for it.

"Hey, Ted," said Stuart, as he walked on over to where Ted was grabbing another beer. "Your girlfriend is quite something. Sorry, Claudia is just chewing her ear off right now."

Ted smiled at Stuart's use of the word 'girlfriend'. While they clearly were nowhere near defining one another in such words, he let himself revel at the sound of it. "She really is," he agreed.

He migrated over to the window area where Tracy and Claudia were chatting, and he slipped his arm casually around Tracy's waist as she finished her conversation. Claudia gave him a knowing wink, "I think Stuart needs me. Tracy, thanks for the lovely chat," and she walked off.

"What were you guys talking about?" he asked her.

"Oh, I told her I had my music degree from Juilliard, and she just had a few questions for her niece who plays the piano and is thinking of applying there in a few years," Tracy explained. "I just offered a few tips. Everyone here seems so nice."

"Yeah, Marshall and Lily's friends are pretty cool," he agreed. "Did you have a chance to chat with Michelle? She's pretty amazing**—**she's a behavioral therapist."

"I did!" she said. "But, can I ask: is there a reason Lily is talking to Michelle like, well, that?"

They looked over at the sofa where Lily was sitting with Michelle. "Aw, hells to the nah! You do _not_ put a ring on _my_ girlfriend's finger and then drag your feet on picking a wedding date!" she was saying.

"Yeahhh," Ted said. "We call it revertigo. It's best not to ask any questions; just enjoy it."

"Lily's got another case of revertigo, huh?" said Marshall, walking over with an amused smirk on his face.

Ted chuckled, clinking his beer bottle with Marshall's.

"You having a good time, Tracy?" Marshall asked.

"I am!" she said. "How are you feeling? Excited for Italy?"

"A bit nervous, but excited," he said. "I've never lived abroad before, so this should be a fun year. And Lily's just over the moon." They all looked over at Lily, who was now krumping enthusiastically with Michelle.

Tracy laughed. "Yeah, it sounds amazing. I'd love to visit Italy one day**—**my mom's part Italian**—**but I don't think I could live there. I sometimes don't see myself living anywhere but New York, you know?"

"We all thought the same about Ted, too," said Marshall. "And then he goes and decides to move to Chicago!"

Ted glared at Marshall nervously, then looked back at Tracy. He hadn't exactly gotten around to telling Tracy that, just three days earlier, he was Chicago-bound.

"Chicago?" she asked, looking at Ted expectantly.

"Yeah," Marshall piped in again. "Job set-up, apartment lined-up... shocked us all that he would make such a big move."

"Thanks, Marshall," Ted told him sarcastically. He looked over at Tracy. "Can I talk to you outside for a bit?"

They retreated into the hallway, Ted shutting the door behind him. Tracy had crossed her arms across her chest and was looking down on the ground.

"You're moving to Chicago?" she whispered.

"_Was_!" Ted specified, reaching for her chin, lifting it, wanting to look her in the eyes. "I _was_ going to move to Chicago."

"When?" she asked. Her tone didn't seem angry; just sad, and a tad confused. He wanted so bad to un-confuse her and make it right.

"This past Monday," he admitted.

"So, why are you still in New York?" she asked him.

There it was. He was hoping to play it cool at the start of what he was hoped was going to be a relationship, to not jump the gun, to not scare her off with his big gestures. And him ditching his plans to move at the eleventh hour just to get to know her? It definitely fell in that category.

"You," he said simply.

"Me?" she asked. "What do you mean?"

"I met you. I... wanted to get to know you. Something inside told me you were worth getting to know. So I decided to not take this new job in Chicago, to stay here and see where this could go."

"Ted," she said softly, visibly touched, but still upset. "This is huge! You dropped everything... for me? You hardly know me. You'll regret this."

Ted smiled. "I don't think so."

"You'll soon realize you did your career a huge disservice and you'll change your mind."

"I really won't," he assured her.

"Why are you so certain?" she inquired, looking up at him desperately. "I don't think I can live with the idea that you gave up a great opportunity just for me."

Ted sighed. "Because there comes a time in every guy's life when he realizes that his career comes second place to finding the woman of his dreams he hopes to settle down with." _There. I said it._

Tracy's eyes widened. "Whoa. I think I need to sit down." She slid down the wall she was leaning against and plopped down onto the ground. Ted joined her.

They sat in silence for a good minute or two. She looked over at him. "This is a lot to process," she admitted. "You want to settle down with me? I hope I didn't have a giant 'Marry Me' sign on my back during our date."

Ted blushed. "I don't know. But I know I like you. I haven't liked someone like this in a long time." He reached over and took her hand in his. "We connected. This may go somewhere, or it may not**—**but I know I wanted to at least try. You just looked so beautiful on that train platform, and I had been thinking about you since I saw you at the reception. So I took a leap of faith," he said simply. To him, it just sounded that simple.

Tracy took in what he said. "Yeah, I know what taking a leap of faith is like," she admitted eventually. "I didn't think I'd say 'yes' when you asked me out. I mean, I had only just gotten over someone the day before."

"Lewis," Ted said matter-of-factly. He did propose to her on Saturday, after all.

"No," she told him, scooting her body to face him. "You know my old boyfriend Max I told you about?"

Ted nodded.

"Well, we never actually ever broke up." Ted looked at her quizzically. "He died back in 2005," she finished.

Ted's heart broke for her. He gave her hand a squeeze. "Oh, man. I'm... so sorry. I can't even begin to understand how that must've felt. What happened?"

Her voice choked up a bit as she spoke. "Um, it was a car accident on the Brooklyn Bridge. He was in a cab, coming back from a music shop in Brooklyn buying me a present. It was my 21st birthday," she explained.

He leaned over and pulled her into his arms, wordlessly hugging her as hard and as supportive as he could. He couldn't imagine, at 21, dealing with that. He always felt lucky to never have personally dealt with death; Marshall's dad's passing was probably the closest he's come.

"I'm ok," she assured him, pulling back. "But for the longest time after his passing, I couldn't date anyone. He was it for me, I thought. I had resigned to being single for the rest of my life. So I didn't put myself out there, for pretty much seven years."

"Seven years," he breathed out. "No dates, nothing?" She shook her head. "Not even..." He couldn't even bring himself to say the word 'sex'.

Tracy laughed. "Yeah, not even that. And by that point, I think I just needed some human contact, to be touched again. And I met Lewis. He was cute, nice, financially stable, and he really liked me."

"But?"

Tracy sighed. "He didn't really care for my singing English muffin," he revealed.

Ted was confused. "Is that a euphemism for something?" he asked. "Because, I promise, I will have nothing but high praise for your singing muffin."

Tracy sunk her head in her hands, embarrassed, laughing. "No. God, this is gonna sound lame. But I'm talking literally: I slather my English muffin with jam, and then proceed to have it sing show tunes over breakfast."

Ted laughed heartily. That was the most adorable thing he had ever heard. "I love that," he said genuinely.

She seemed relieved. "Yeah, but Lewis didn't. He didn't appreciate it like Max did. There were lots of other little things that told me he wasn't the one, but that was the kicker. After all, you kinda want the person you're with to appreciate your weird quirks, and not just tolerate them, you know?"

That sounded all too familiar to Ted. "I do know," he sympathized, gazing into her eyes, taking her hands in his. "I hope to get to know more of you and all your weird quirks. And you mine**—**I've got some pretty bizarre ones," he promised.

Tracy laughed, despite the tears welling up. "So, um, what happened next? With Lewis, I mean," he asked her, reaching out to wipe her eye.

Tracy shrugged her shoulders. "He proposed, and I freaked. I realized that life was moving forward**—**moving fast**—**and that I was still stuck on Max. I couldn't let him go. I had put him on this pedestal, and wasn't letting myself move on, to be happy again. So I had to make that big decision on Saturday. It wasn't easy to finally say goodbye to him."

"I know the feeling. That was me and Robin. I don't think I loved her in that way anymore**—**I mean, we dated _so_ long ago. But I think it was more the _idea_ of her, the past she represented, you know? Sometimes, it's easier clinging to the past rather than looking out into the future. It can be scary," Ted admitted.

Tracy smiled. "But good scary," she told him.

"Good scary," he agreed. "Just like the fear I felt when I walked up to you to say hello."

"Well, I'm glad you took that leap, then."

"Well, _I'm_ glad you took that leap along with me," he told her. "So, we're good? I haven't sufficiently freaked you out yet?"

"We're good," she said with a laugh. "I promise."

They both slowly leaned in for a conciliatory kiss, Ted happy to have laid all his cards on the table, and that Tracy had opened up her heart a bit to him, too. It seemed they were both a bit messed-up, with their own respective baggage, but both their loads were lightening, one day at a time.

Before their lips could meet, the apartment door opened and Marshall peeked his head out. He spotted the two of them sitting on the floor. "Oh, there you guys are," he said. "The others were wondering where you went. They wanted to make sure you guys weren't having sex out in the hallway or something."

Tracy pressed her head to Ted's shoulder, embarrassed.

"We're good, bud," Ted said. "We'll be in in a sec."

Marshall nodded his head. "Guys, they're not having sex!" he shouted as he shut the door behind him.

Ted shook his head. "I'm sorry about that," he said, leaning in. "Marshall's not good with tact after he's had a beer or two."

"It's alright," she insisted. "Let's go inside, though, so that we don't give them anything more to gossip about."

Ted stood up first, and reached down to pull up Tracy. He held her in his arms a bit, and they slowly swayed side to side, before finally sharing a tender kiss. Ted was feeling a sense of peace in her arms he hadn't felt in a long time, and he was sensing a warm, familiar feeling in his chest. _Is this love? _he wondered. _Does she feel it, too?_

He decided to get rid of those thoughts from his mind for now. Or, at the least, keep them to himself; they were taking things slow, after all. But Ted couldn't help how he felt. He wanted to tell her. Badly.

He pulled away from her and gazed into her eyes, brushing her bangs from her eyes. "I... spoke with Barney today," he said instead, steering her towards the door. _Not yet_, his brain insisted.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yep." He opened it and ushered her back into the apartment. "So what's this I hear about how he came on to you once?"

* * *

The party was short and was done pretty early**—**Marshall and Lily had to be at the airport by 9am, after all. So by 9:30pm, Tracy and Ted were helping them clean up, tossing dirty paper plates in the trash and putting the beer bottles and wine glasses in the recycling bin.

Ted couldn't help but think of the void Marshall and Lily were leaving behind. They had practically spent the last 17 years of their lives together; Ted honestly wasn't sure how we was supposed to navigate this world without them. But he figured the timing for this journey of theirs was perfect; after all, his "mom and dad" were throwing him out into the world, letting him embark on a new journey of his own.

He looked over at Tracy, who was carrying a full garbage bag towards the door. He grabbed her wrist gently as she walked by him, taking the bag from her hands, and giving her a kiss. "Hi," he said.

"Hi back," she said with a wide grin, kissing him back. "Are we done with the living room?" she asked.

"I think so," he said, looking around. "Hey, Lily," he called to her in the kitchen. "We're done in here!"

"And I'm done in the kitchen," Lily said happily. The place was now ready for her friends Peter and Lisa, who were subletting the place for the year they'd be gone.

"So..." Ted said.

"So," Lily said sadly. "I guess this is it?"

Marshall came out of the nursery, a sleepy Marvin in his arms. "Someone wants to say goodbye to his Uncle Ted!"

Ted grabbed the baby from Marshall's arms, lifting him up over his head one last time. He brought him down, and hugged him tight. It was weird, after being there for the first year of Marvin's life, to now know that a year from now, Marvin may not even remember him.

"I'll miss you, little man," said Ted sincerely. "Try not to forget me."

"Pictures!" Lily squealed, brandishing her iPhone in the air. "Let's get one of Ted and Marvin."

Ted obliged for a few shots, and then Lily suggested Tracy step in. "Oh, um..." Ted began.

"I don't know..." Tracy said nervously.

"Come on, you two!" Lily urged. So Tracy stepped in, awkwardly at first, and Ted put a comforting arm around her shoulders. Marvin started squirming in Ted's other arm, and was reaching his chubby hands out for Tracy. Tracy grabbed the squirming baby**—**"Come here, you little hitchhiker," she cooed**—**and let Marvin settle into her arms.

"Say cheese!" Lily said, snapping the photo, and Ted noticed she and Marshall share a knowing glance. Ted blushed, as he looked over at Tracy bouncing Marvin in her arms. She looked up at Ted, shyly, but smiling.

A few more photos followed suit: Ted with Marshall, Ted with Lily, Tracy offered to take a few shots of the three of them together,and a few with Marvin. Lily even tried for a selfie with all five of them, but the final result was more laughable than anything else.

"So, we should let you guys get to bed," Ted said, a lump in his throat. "Um, you guys have a safe flight. I'll see you in a year?"

He reached over and gave Lily a big bear hug. "You have a good year, Ted," she whispered. "I have a good feeling about Tracy. She really likes you**—**I can see it."

"Thanks, Lily," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck over there: you've earned this."

Ted moved over to Marshall, high-fiving his friend before moving in for a warm hug. "I'll miss you man," he told him. "New York wont be the same without you guys."

"I'll miss you, too," he said. "This will be the longest time we'll spend away from each other since we've met. Can you believe it?"

"It's definitely surreal," Ted said, tears in his eyes. He didn't think he'd have to go through _two_ goodbyes with his best friends in the span of four days. It was emotionally rough.

Lily moved over to Tracy, and gave her a friendly hug. She then whispered something in her ear. Tracy grinned and nodded, and hugged Lily again, tighter.

Marshall then gave Tracy a hug. "We'll see you again in a year, I hope," he said.

Tracy gave a sideways glance at Ted and smiled knowingly. "I think you just might," she said, not letting go of Ted's gaze.

They repeated their goodbyes, and Ted urged them to call him the moment they landed in Rome. Marshall and Lily promised, and Ted gave one last, bittersweet look at the Eriksen family before he and Tracy exited the apartment.

Out in the hallway, Ted let out a shaky breath, not really believing that he just parted ways with Marshall and Lily. He put his head in his hands, and let a few tears flow. He soon realized he was probably freaking Tracy out.

But she had her hand on his arm, rubbing it up and down in a soothing fashion. "It's ok," she assured him. "A year goes by fast."

"I know," Ted agreed, dabbing at his eyes with his shirt sleeves. "It's just... 17 years, you know?"

Tracy smiled sympathetically, and stood up on her toes to wrap her arms around Ted's neck. They stayed like that for a while, Ted reveling in the comfort her embrace offered, when Tracy spoke up.

"You know what Lily told me just now?" she whispered.

"What?" Ted murmured, his face buried in her hair.

"She said she was worried about leaving you behind," she began. "And asked me to take care of you while they were gone."

Ted laughed. "You will?" he asked, pulling back to look her in the eyes. "I can be very needy," he warned jokingly.

"I think I can handle it," she said. "I'm sure we can figure out things to do during the next 365 days."

Ted smiled in agreement. "365 days," he repeated, looking forward to the year ahead. _And more days after that_, he hoped. He leaned down to give her a kiss.

"I could use a drink," Ted said softly. "Come on: let's go downstairs to MacLaren's for a bit before I take you home. It's still early." He took her hand as they walked down the hall, down the stairs, and out into the night.


End file.
